Caterpillar Accelerates Dividend Payout

At this point, the real news would be: "Who isn't?"

Another day, another special, fiscal cliff-inspired dividend payout. On Wednesday, industrial heavyweight Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT)announced it will maintain its current dividend rate, but accelerate payment to beat the impending 2013 fiscal cliff. Specifically, on Dec. 31, 2012, Caterpillar will pay its Q1 2013 dividend of $0.52 per share to shareholders of record as of Dec. 24, 2012.

Caterpillar was not coy about its motivations, with CEO Doug Oberhelman noting that "because of the uncertainty about U.S. tax policy, we're acting in the interest of our stockholders." He added that the company estimates that this action could save its stockholders around $30 million.

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